Connor Bedard didn’t sugarcoat anything after the Chicago Blackhawks were blasted 9-2 by the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday.
“It’s embarrassing to lose like that,” Bedard said, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times. “Especially when we leave our goalies out to dry like that.
They battle for us. It’s hard.
Any guy would say the same. Tonight was tough.
It’s 9-2. It’s not rocket science; it’s not good enough, and we know that.”
Chicago’s record now sits at 4-13-1, and the team has managed just one win in its last 10 games. The skid fits a bleak stretch that has seen the Blackhawks finish 31st in the league standings in each of Bedard’s three NHL seasons since the club drafted him first overall in 2023.
Bedard said the frustration follows him everywhere right now.
“There’s frustration all the time,” Bedard said, according to The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus. “When you’re waking up, when you’re going to bed, you’re thinking about the record and the hole that we’re in.
“What we’ve been able to do really well is every practice, every pregame skate, every lunch, dinner, every time we hang out, we still have that camaraderie and have that joy to be at the rink. But at the end of the day, it’s a results league, and we’ve got to be better. There’s nothing else to it.”
Even with the rough start and the lopsided loss, Bedard’s production has picked up after he began the season injured. He now has 14 points in 12 games.
The 20-year-old signed a five-year, $75-million extension with the Blackhawks in July and was named captain in September.
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Canes Cannot Let Jersey Night Become A Trap Game
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Chicago still has enough name value to keep the spotlight from drifting too far, with rookies Roman Kantserov and Connor Bedard among the players drawing attention. But the Blackhawks arrive banged up and trying to steady themselves, which is exactly the sort of setup that can test a home favorite if the focus slips for even a period on a night meant to celebrate everything around the game. [Read more 🡒]